The Mavericks belong to Cooper Flagg now, and Kyrie Irving is the wild card

The Dallas Mavericks are Cooper Flagg's team now, and the summer made it official. Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton are gone, and the biggest name coming back is one who did not play at all last season: Kyrie Irving. The question for 2026-27 is how far Flagg can carry a roster in transition, and how much help Irving can give him once he is ready.

Last season was a long one. Dallas went 26-56, finished 12th in the West and missed the playoffs, getting outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions. Davis played only 20 games, Irving none, and what was left on the floor was too thin to hold up over a full season.

Out with the old plan

The departures read like the end of an era. Davis, now with the Washington Wizards, was still good when he played and graded above average (1.16), but 20 games was all Dallas got. Middleton followed him to Washington after a rough 29 games (-2.29). Thompson, now with the Miami Heat, played 69 games at 21.7 minutes but graded below average (-1.11). Brandon Williams left for the Golden State Warriors and Marvin Bagley III for the Denver Nuggets. In all, only 62% of last season's minutes return.

The newcomers carry smaller names. Santi Aldama, from the Memphis Grizzlies, is the most useful of them: 14 points and 6.7 rebounds in 27.8 minutes, and an above-average grade (0.7). Zaccharie Risacher comes from the Atlanta Hawks after 67 games of 9.6 points and a below-average grade (-1.34). Marcus Sasser (Detroit Pistons, 0.44 in 12 minutes) and Jett Howard (Orlando Magic) fill out the guard rotation, and three rookies, Morez Johnson, Sergio De Larrea and Tobi Lawal, join them.

Flagg first

Flagg did what a franchise player is supposed to do. He played 70 games at 33.5 minutes and averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists, leading this roster in points and assists. Our impact rating, which counts the points a player adds per 100 possessions over an average one, had him above average at 0.85. That is good, not great yet, and the distance between those two words is what this season is about.

Naji Marshall was his steadiest partner: 74 games, 15.2 points in 29.5 minutes, and a 0.79 that says the production was real. P.J. Washington gave Dallas 14.2 points and 7 rebounds in 30.9 minutes, though his grade slipped below average (-0.84).

The quiet strength is up front. Daniel Gafford (9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in 21.7 minutes) and Dwight Powell (14.6 minutes a night) both graded at 0.96, and Moussa Cisse added a 0.88 with 5.8 rebounds in 14.4 minutes. None of them is a star, but the frontcourt reserves were one part of last season that worked.

The Kyrie question

Irving is the swing piece. In 2024-25, his last season on the floor, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 36 minutes over 50 games, and his rating of 3.24 is higher than anyone's on last season's roster. On paper, he is the best player Dallas has.

He is listed as questionable, so the timing is open. But a healthy Irving next to Flagg could change this team more than any move Dallas made this summer: the scoring load gets shared, and Flagg gets a partner who can make something out of a broken play. It also changes Flagg's job, from doing everything to doing what he does best.

The worries

The perimeter worries us. Max Christie played more games than anyone, 77 at 29.1 minutes, and scored 12.3 points, but graded below average (-1.27). Risacher, at -1.34, does not obviously fix that, and Howard (-2.36 in 12.7 minutes) is hard to count on. Unless Irving is back, a lot of minutes on the wings go to players who graded below average.

The injury report is crowded, too. Aldama, Irving, Dereck Lively II and the rookie Morez Johnson are all listed as questionable. That is four players whose status is open before the first game, and with Davis gone, the frontcourt depth that looks fine on paper could get thin fast.

Bottom line

Our roster model ranks Dallas 25th of 30 and projects about 32 wins, a modest step up from last season. It is built from last season, so it cannot give Irving credit for a year he did not play. If he comes back close to his 2024-25 form and Flagg takes the next step, the Mavericks can beat that number. If the injury list lingers and Christie and Risacher take big minutes at their old level, about 32 wins could even be generous.

It starts on Wednesday, October 21, at 8:30 PM ET, in Houston against the Rockets.